Machines for manufacturing or repairing one or more of the components of constant velocity universal joints are well known. Thus, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,197,228 and 5,359,814 disclose a machine for regrinding such components which contains means for holding the component part, a grinding bit, a rotatable support means, a motorized grinding tool, means for adjusting the position of the motorized grinding tool in the Y axis and the Z axis, and a lubricating fluid injection system. The disclosure of each of these patents is hereby incorporated by reference into this specification.
These prior art machines are not adapted to readily and efficiently regrind the cages of constant velocity universal joints. They can only grind one cage at a time; and a substantial amount of time is often wasted in loading and unloading cage fixtures, which must be loaded and set up inside the machine. Furthermore, in the operation of these prior art machines, the cage is held fixed while a spindle is moved in the Y and Z axes to effect the desired grinding. The use of a movable and rotatable spindle sometimes results in decreased accuracy in high speed grinding.
To effect high-speed grinding of a multiplicity of ball cages, a grinding machine must be able to accurately determine the location of each of the windows in each of the cages being ground. This is often difficult, depending upon how the cages are disposed vis-a-vis each other, for all of the dimensions of the cages are not always uniform; applicants have discovered that the heights of otherwise identical ball cages often vary. None of the prior art grinding machines known to applicants provides a solution to the problem presented by non-uniform ball cages.
It is an object of this invention to provide a grinding machine which can accurately grind several ball cages of a universal joint mounted on a multiple cage holder.
It is another object of this invention to provide a grinding machine in which a fixed spindle contacts a multiplicity of movable workpieces.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel multiple cage holder.
It is another object of this invention to provide a tool for aligning a multiplicity of cages on a multiple cage holder.
It is another object of this invention to provide a grinding machine with a stable base.